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touchatag(TM), an Alcatel-Lucent Venture, Issues EUR5000 Developer Challenge for Best NFC-Based Urban Game

Posted on: Wednesday, 9 September 2009, 09:35 CDT

PARIS, September 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced a competition led by its touchatag(TM) venture in which software developers compete in the creation of the most innovative Near Field Communications (NFC) urban game for mobile phones. Competition winners will receive a total of EUR5000 in cash prizes.

Called the "Vienna Jungle Scrum," (http://www.touchatag.com/a1contest/) the competition is one component of mobilkom austria's A1 InnovationDays 2009, taking place on September 26 and 27, and is intended to motivate developers around the world to create new mobile applications using Near Field Communications Technology (NFC). The competition challenges creative designers and software developers to use the historic city of Vienna as a backdrop to create an innovative urban game.

Urban gaming is a fast growing trend made possible by various mobile technologies, such as Global Positioning Services (GPS) and Near Field Communication (NFC). Sometimes called location-based games, the games use widespread urban spaces for their play. Games can vary from fast-paced point-to-point races, to treasure hunts and problem solving challenges, to interactive tours of historical, cultural and other points of interest. touchatag(TM) makes urban gaming more exciting by providing a simple form of augmented reality: places, people and things can be linked to online information via simple, adhesive RFID tags which can then be read with an NFC-enabled phone. By sponsoring the Vienna Jungle Scrum as a mobile urban game challenge, Alcatel-Lucent seeks to fuel increased creative use of NFC technology.

The Vienna Jungle Scrum (http://www.touchatag.com/a1contest/) challenge is sponsored by Alcatel-Lucent. Registration is open to software developers worldwide until September 18, 2009. Complete details about the competition, rules and selection criteria as well as how to register for the challenge, can be found at: http://www.touchatag.com/a1contest/index.html. For information on the A1 InnovationDays 2009 follow: http://www.a1innovations.at

"With touchatag(TM) participating in A1 InnovationDays 2009 we are seeking to inspire innovation and add value for our mobile users," said Hannes Ametsreiter, CEO mobilkom austria and Telekom Austria. "Vienna is the perfect location to host this urban challenge. The city's long history and mix of modern elements will motivate developers to create innovative applications that are specifically designed for Near Field Communication and the mobile network."

"Stimulating developers to create mobile applications utilizing leading edge NFC technology is part of our goal to leverage mobile devices and networks in new and exciting ways," said Harald Himmer, Head of Alcatel-Lucent business in Austria. "The sponsorship of the A1 InnovationDays 2009 demonstrates our commitment to developing ecosystems to foster innovation and building mobile entertainment applications desired by users."

About touchatag(TM)

touchatag is an on-line service that includes a catalogue of contactless services, readers and tags that enable network operators and enterprises to invoke payments, loyalty and coupon services using, RRID/NFC technology. touchatag utilizes a managed services approach to bundling multiple applications onto one contactless card. Developers and enterprises can create new applications using the touchatag API.

About Alcatel-Lucent Ventures

Alcatel-Lucent Ventures is a new business innovation engine within Bell Labs, focused on capturing value via venture investment. The team's investment strategy has three areas of focus, incubation and commercialization of internal ventures, strategic venture capital investment and joint ventures.

mobilkom austria - Leading Austrian Mobile Operator

With almost 4.6 million customers and a market share of 42.3%, mobilkom austria is Austria's leading mobile operator. Founded in 1996, the company offers comprehensive mobile solutions, from voice telephony and data services to mobile business and payment solutions, through the brands A1, bob and Red Bull MOBILE. mobilkom austria is part of the Telekom Austria Group and has more than 2,100 employees in Austria. Chairman is Dr. Hannes Ametsreiter, who is also CEO of Telekom Austria and member of the board of GSM Association (GSMA).

In the fiscal year 2008 mobilkom austria achieved a turnover of EUR 1,668.0 million, an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 600.7 million and an operating profit of EUR 352.3 million.

Innovation leader

Innovations for the customers and collaboration with the best technology and solution partners take first place at mobilkom austria. Milestones include: introduction of the world's first network security solution for mobile internet (2008), launch of the world's first commercial NFC services (2007), launch of m-Parking (2003), OBB mobile ticket as the first genuine m-commerce application (1999).

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

SOURCE Alcatel-Lucent

Source: PR Newswire

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